


It's A Date

by loveispurple



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: Canon Compliant, Carnival, First Dates, Fluff, M/M, Past Han/Leia, Stuffed Toys
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-22
Updated: 2016-05-22
Packaged: 2018-06-10 02:51:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,413
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6936193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/loveispurple/pseuds/loveispurple
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Han Solo was many things: a smuggler, a tough guy, a heart breaker. But there was one thing he most certainly was not: he was not in love with Luke Skywalker."</p><p>Han and Luke have their first date at the Galactic Fair.</p>
            </blockquote>





	It's A Date

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TripCreates](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TripCreates/gifts).



> I'm so excited to be posting my first fanfic on AO3! I've been procrastinating this a little bit because I've been busy and because I wanted this to be really good! I hope you like it!

Han Solo was many things: a smuggler, a tough guy, a heart breaker. But there was one thing he most certainly was not: he was not in love with Luke Skywalker. He had Leia, and that was enough for the time being.

“Hey, Scoundrel,” said Leia suggestively as she strode across the floor of the Millennium Falcon’s cockpit toward Han. He quickly turned the Falcon on autopilot as Leia leaned down slightly to press a kiss to his cheek. Han spun in his seat to face her.

“Well, hello to you too, Princess,” he replied with his trademark confidence and smirk. The princess took a seat on the lap of the smuggler and lightly kissed his lips.

Meanwhile, Luke was just outside the cockpit of the Falcon, doing some sort of Jedi training that Han was unfamiliar with. His lightsaber was out, the glow radiating off of his face beautifully. With each swing of the saber, his muscles tensed and relaxed beneath his black Jedi robes.

Luke’s presence in the other room was enough to distract Han from the beautiful woman currently sitting on his lap. And that woman was not dumb.

Scooting off of Han and opting to stand beside him instead, Leia said softly, knowingly, “You love him.”

“What?” Han asked, the question catching him off-guard, especially since he had just been so distracted by Luke.

“You love my brother,” Leia repeated.

Han scoffed, incredulously. “Love?” he laughed. “Me, Han Solo, in love with some farm boy? Don’t be ridiculous, Leia!”

Leia gave him a knowing look, preceded by an eye roll of course. “Han, don’t try to hide from me. I can sense it.” Han could feel his cheeks beginning to flush. He was caught. Stupid Force. “Don’t try to hide this from Luke either. If I can feel it, he can feel it. You know he’ll figure it out.” Han just stared at her, trying desperately to keep up his tough guy act but failing miserably. “It’s okay, Han. Really, it is. You don’t have to feel guilty about it. We’ve talked about this. We both know that we aren’t going to last forever.”

Han knew he had been caught. “Yeah, well… so what if I like the kid? He’s just that: a kid. He doesn’t know what he’s doing.”

“He’s my age, Han,” Leia said, slightly annoyed. “Besides, I sense something in him. A sadness. The same sadness that I feel in you…” She trailed off, leaving Han to wonder what in the galaxy she was talking about.

“What do you mean a ‘sadness’”? he asked.

She sighed, annoyed at having to spell it out for him. “I think he might be gay,” she whispered for fear of Luke overhearing.

Han laughed. “You think he might be gay?! I’m not liking my odds here, Leia!”

Leia rolled her eyes again. “I know how you feel about him, Han. I’m trying to help.” There was a silent, contemplative moment between the two. The only sounds were the hum of the Falcon and the whir of Luke’s distant lightsaber. “I have an idea,” Leia announced after a moment. “The Galactic Fair is coming up. Why don’t you ask Luke?”

Han’s eyes went wide. “Are you telling me to ask him on a date? A date that me and you were supposed to go on together? No way!”

“Relax,” Leia calmed him. “Just go and ask him.” She gave him a shove right toward where Luke was working. “Right now, go!”

Before Han knew it, he was being pushed into the hallway right outside of the cockpit and left standing right behind Luke as Leia disappeared into the main hold. He couldn’t believe Leia had convinced him to go and do something stupid like asking the kid out on a date. The whir of the lightsaber stopped, and the room’s green glow disappeared. “Hi, Han,” said Luke in a meditative tone, not even turning to face him. Damn Force. Han needed to start hanging around with normal people.

“Hey there, Luke,” he greeted in a less-than-confident tone. He winced at the use of the kid’s real name as he usually depended on a nickname.

Turning to face Han, Luke said, “What’s wrong? You seem tense.”

Han tensed up even more. He had been caught once again. “Oh, nothing’s wrong! Everything’s fine! Great, actually! Perfect!” Nailed it. Emotions were not exactly his strong point.

Luke spoke softly. “Han, what’s wrong? Tell me.”

The boy’s concerned tone melted Han’s heart. With any luck, Han could get through this conversation without his heart becoming a total puddle. “Nothing’s wrong, exactly. I just wanted to talk to you.” Luke looked at his friend pointedly, as if asking a question with his eyes. “What’s up?” Han asked coolly. Luke squinted his eyes in an accusing manner. Han sighed in defeat. “Okay, fine. I was just…” He paused, rethinking what he was about to do. If Luke said no, everything would be ruined. There would be no more hugs, no more conversations… no more Luke. But if he said yes - oh, if he said yes…

“I was wondering if you wanted to go to the Galactic Fair,” Han spat out before he could second guess himself.

Luke’s eyes lit up with excitement. “Well, of course!” he said, joyously. “Everyone’s going. I thought you and Leia were already planning to make a stop there.”

Han did an internal eye roll. Why, oh why did he have to like the most naive boy in the galaxy? “No, no, I meant… would you like to go to the fair with me?” he corrected.

Luke’s smile faded a little as a slight blush crept across his cheeks. “You mean… like a date?” Han dropped his face to look at the floor and gave a small nod. “Okay,” Luke said, shyly.

Han’s head shot up to look at Luke, examining his features for any hint of his answer being a joke. He found that the boy was sincere. “Alright then,” Han said with not a smirk but a genuine smile. “It’s a date.”

* * *  
Before the Falcon’s passengers knew it, they were approaching Coruscant. Han expertly activated the landing gear as Chewie buckled into the copilot’s seat. As the two friends prepared to descend into the atmosphere of Coruscant, Han felt his stomach turning in knots at the thought of what was to come.

Chewie noticed the change in his friend’s demeanor. “What’s wrong?” he growled.

“Nothing,” Han lied, but knowing Chewie would see right through it, continued. “Okay, so I’m a little nervous about the fair,” he confessed.

The wookiee smiled. “Han Solo, nervous about a date? I never thought I’d see the day!” he exclaimed.

Keeping his eyes on the planet’s approaching form, Han responded, “I know, I know. It’s not like me. I just don’t want to let Luke down. I don’t know if he’s ever even been on a date. I want him to have a good time.” As Han finished speaking, the Falcon made touchdown at Coruscant Spaceport.

“Just be yourself,” said Chewie. “But not too much of yourself.”

“Ha ha, very funny,” Han countered, his nervous demeanor unchanging. He lowered the ramp, and the passengers were on their way.

* * *  
So there they were: Han, Luke, Leia, Chewbacca, and their droids, strolling along through the streets of Coruscant, surrounded by lifeforms from all over the galaxy. Han and Luke left a comfortable amount of space between them as they walked, neither wanting to test the boundaries just yet.

In the awkward silence that had settled over the friends, Leia cleared her throat. “Uh, Chewie, I was thinking we should go get you some food. You looked starved.”

Han cut in, “Actually, we just ate before we-”

But the wookie interrupted him with, “No, she’s right. I am pretty hungry. I’ve been craving some fried womp rat for a while now.” Han squinted his eyes at his furry friend, but Chewie just smiled back and started walking off with Leia.

“You too, Threepio!” called Leia.

“Princess Leia, considering I am made of metal and do not have digestive organs, I find it unnecessary that I accompany you to-” Threepio was cut off by Chewbacca roaring and nearly pulling the droid’s arm out of its socket. “On second thought, perhaps the two of you could use a companion…” His voice faded out as the three walked away, Artoo beeping cheerfully behind them.

The two men continued to walk aimlessly through the fair, Han’s hands in his pockets, Luke’s arms crossed nervously in front of his chest. “So,” said Han.

“So,” responded Luke. After a moment, he looked at Han and asked, “Is this how all of your dates normally go? Or do you usually actually do something?”

Han raised his eyebrows. “Alright, kid. I’ll take that as a challenge.” He tried to keep up his confident demeanor but was desperately looking around for something fun to loosen the kid up. He looked over at Luke who was eyeing a giant stuffed bantha. The toy was hanging next to a sign that read “Rebel Simulator”. The small metallic booth was painted to look like an old rebel base that he’d seen in holomags. It contained an imitation blaster, a virtual reality mask, and stacks of stuffed creatures and was manned by a strange looking protocol droid. “I’ve got an idea,” Han announced, triumphantly as he led Luke toward the booth.

When they reached the booth, Han inserted a few credit chips into a machine and stuck his head inside the virtual reality helmet/mask. “Watch this!” he exclaimed. The droid pressed a button, and Han began “shooting” the fake blaster in all directions. Luke could see what Han was doing by watching a holovision hung to the side of the booth. Luke guessed he was supposed to be shooting all of the clone troopers and Sith officials. In reality, Han was missing almost every shot he took.

Eventually, Luke tired of watching Han’s poor gaming skills and opted to look at Han instead. While Luke could not see Han’s eyes, he could see how the rest of his body tensed each time he shot the blaster. He saw the muscles in Han’s jaw slowly clenching as he grew frustrated with the game.

“Game Over,” a robotic voice announced. Han stepped away from the simulation helmet with a scowl on his face.

“Damn clumsy blasters,” he grumbled, sticking some more credits into the machine.

Luke grabbed his arm and tried to pull him back from the simulation game, mildly amused by Han’s frustration over a silly game. “Han, it’s alright. We’ll go find something else to do.”

“No!” he insisted, pulling his arm out of Luke’s grasp and steadying himself back inside of the mask. “I can do this! I’m a kriffing rebel now!” Luke stepped back at Han’s unexpected use of an expletive over such a small complication.

Time after time, Han shot at nothing, lost the game, and stormed back over to insert more credit chips into the machine. The cycle was amusing at first, but after about the seventh time the robot announced “Game Over”, Han was genuinely angry, and Luke had enough of the monotony.

“Let’s just go find another game to play,” he suggested. “This one must be broken.” Luke knew that the game wasn’t broken. Unfortunately, Han knew it too.

“No!” he shouted again, digging into his pocket to find more credit chips. Luke caught his hand before he could pay for yet another game. “It’s not broken, and I can do it!” Han’s anger softened to sadness then. “I wanted to play this game because I… I wanted to win that stuffed bantha for you… I saw you looking at it earlier…”

Luke smiled softly. “Really?” he asked, a blush threatening to take over. Having not known his parents, he wasn’t used to being treated so lovingly. “It’s really not a big deal, Han. I just liked it because it reminds me of Tatooine. But to be honest, you’ve probably spent more credits on this game than you would have spent if you had just bought it.” The two locked eyes and smiled, then connected in an embrace that lasted maybe a little too long to be friendly. “Thank you,” Luke said softly.

When they disconnected from each other, Luke reached into his pocket and found a few credit chips. “No, kid,” said Han. “Don’t go spending your own credits on this crap game.” The droid behind the counter made some beeping noises, reminding them of his presence.

Just as Luke was about to insert his credits into the machine, a holojournalist approached them, holding out a holocamera and capturing a holo of the two smiling sweetly at one another. “Luke Skywalker! The galaxy thanks you!” said the reporter, holding a stylus to her flimsi, anticipating the next words of the famous war hero.

“Thank you,” said Luke, “but the defeat of the Empire wouldn’t have been possible without the help of Leia Organa and my friend, Captain Han Solo,” he said, gesturing to the man beside him.

Han smirked toward the holocamera and put his hands on his hips, the picture of masculinity. “What can I say?” he said, feigning humbleness. As the holocamera snapped, Han posed. “Make sure you get my good side.”

Luke quickly shooed the holojournalist away, ever the humble hero, and Han let the tough guy act drop. Picking up where he left off, Luke inserted his credits into the machine and stepped up to put his face into the mask.

Luke closed his eyes for a few seconds as the game started up. All of a sudden, Luke was shooting left, right, up, down… Han watched the holovision in disbelief of the kid’s abilities. Part of him was jealous of his natural abilities; part of him was a little turned on. Han’s eyes switched back and forth from the holovision to Luke. There was a loud zap, followed by a robotic scream of “Noooo!” as Luke targeted and hit the infamous Darth Tyranus.

“Winner!” announced the same robotic voice. Luke pulled his head out of the mask and grinned at Han. Han stood gaping, entirely jealous now. Luke gave him a little slap on the chest, telling him to “get over himself.”

“How did you-”

“The Force is a powerful tool, my friend.” Damn Force.

Luke stepped up to the droid inside the booth and politely requested the biggest bantha they had. Before he knew it, the stuffed creature was in his arms, probably about half as big as him and just as wide. He peeked at Han from behind the head of the bantha that was covering his face. The two shared a laugh over the absurd size of the thing. It was truly ridiculous, but damn, that thing made Luke so happy, Han just couldn’t get over it.

As Han was busy getting lost in Luke’s smile, he felt the creature being forced into his own arms. He was confused. “But… but I thought you-”

“Keep it,” said Luke, sincerity in his eyes. “You spent all your credits on this game. Your caring about me is better than any gift you could have won me.”

Han nearly started to tear up, but he didn’t because he was a man, damnit! This kid was turning him to mush, and he liked it a little too much.

* * *  
The sky was getting dark, and the lights of the fair rides were beginning to come up. It really was beautiful, thought Han.

Luke pointed to a distant Ferris wheel, grabbed Han’s hand, and ran toward it. Han had a hard time keeping up, only because he was a little distracted by one thing: he was holding hands with Luke Skywalker. Was this really hand holding, though, or was he just being dragged around? Either way, Han was happy with the slight physical contact.

Luke handed a few credit chips over to the strange looking creature beside the ride, and the two men climbed into the rickety seat in front of them: Han on the right, Luke on the left, and Huff - which was the name Han had chosen for his bantha - in the middle.

As they buckled themselves in, the strange creature running the ride came over to them and started yelling in some language that was foreign to the two. They were baffled until the creature started pointing an accusing finger at the giant toy stuffed between the two. “I think Huff has to wait down here,” said Luke to a puzzled Han. He reluctantly obliged and handed Huff over to the angry lifeform in front of them. He watched as Huff was haphazardly placed into a pile of toys, bags, and knickknacks beside the ride.

“Take good care of him, will ya?” Han commanded the alien, knowing full well that his words would not be understood. Over the past hour, the stuffed creature had gone from being a stupid toy to a symbol of Luke’s affection. He hadn’t named a stuffed animal and talked to it since he was probably five years old, yet here he was, treating Huff like a best friend. One lousy date, and the kid was already turning him into a big softie.

The ride started to move, slowly but surely creaking into action. Han and Luke were awkwardly squished against opposite sides of the ride, not wanting to invade the other’s personal space and too nervous to cuddle. They stayed like that, in uncomfortable silence, as they spun around and around.

After a couple of times around, the Ferris wheel stopped, and the awkward couple was on the top. The light from the sky had all but faded, deep blues and purples taking over the horizon, stars just beginning to form. The lights of the city were turning on, building by building. Coruscant was truly a beautiful planet, more beautiful than Han had ever believed it to be before.

Han glanced over at Luke who was staring up at the sky with an captivated look on his face. He was watching the stars, Han realized. He looked at them as if it were the first time he had ever seen them.

“We’re so lucky, you know?” Luke beamed. “To be able to see the stars from a different place every night.” Han became aware that Luke loved the view from anywhere aside from Tatooine. Having been a planet-hopper all his life, Han sometimes took for granted what Luke was just now discovering. His heart leapt at the Luke’s happiness.

As Luke was stargazing, Han decided to try the oldest trick in the book on Luke and hope for the best. He yawned dramatically, stretching his arms above his head as he did so. When he was done yawning, he let his left arm fall over Luke’s shoulder. Luke’s eyes dropped from the sky to look over at Han. The boy’s eyes were wide as Han tried his best to put on an innocent ‘what did I do?’ face. Han thanked whatever gods were out there that Luke was sheltered enough to have never witnessed this trick.

“What are you doing?” asked Luke. In response, Han scooted in closer, looking down at Luke’s tense form. He desperately hoped that Luke would respond well to cuddling and that he wasn’t moving too fast.

A moment later, he felt the boy relax a little bit, awkwardly pressing himself into the older man’s side. Han smiled as he felt Luke wrap an arm around his torso.

Han decided to test his luck once again. Well, not so much decided; he couldn’t help himself. He didn’t know when he would get the chance to do this again. The sky was dazzling in the night, the view was perfect, and the boy tangled against him was absolutely beautiful. In an instant, he put both of his hands on Luke’s cheeks, cupping his face. Soft blue eyes looked up to meet his own, questioning.

Before either of them knew it, Han’s eyes were closed, and his lips were on Luke’s. The kiss only lasted a few seconds, and Luke didn’t reciprocate, but when Han pulled away to look in Luke’s eyes, there was an unspoken agreement of “that was wonderful”. As the ride started to descend, the two clasped hands and watched the fairgrounds come back into view. Their matching smiles said all the words that their mouths didn’t need to.


End file.
